If Call of Duty has taught us anything, it’s this: If at first you don’t succeed, give up and go back to doing what you used to be good at. That’s right, after the poor reception of last year’s Infinite Warfare (relatively speaking; it still made a bazillion dollars), Activision abandoned it’s journey into the future and returned to the comforting embrace of World War II. Now, we’re going back to a time when men were men, zombies were Nazis, and no one did any of that flashy jetpack parkour garbage.

Call of Duty: WWII (November 3rd)

Why we’re excited: The beta earlier this year wasn’t half-bad, and we’re excited for a pared-down shooter experience. There’s something relaxing about offing virtual fascists with an M1 Garand in some bombed out French street.The early buzz: Reviews aren’t in yet, and won’t be until the day before launch. We asked Nick Plessas to break embargo by blinking out his opinion to use in Morse code. His super-secret message translated as “CLOSEGATE.” Don’t tell Activision we told you that.Noob:Earlier this month, a man was arrested in Terre Haute, Indiana, on suspicion of stealing and selling copies of Call of Duty: WII before its street date. Of course, he’d have had a much easier time evading the authorities if he’d just equipped the Phantom Basic Training.

Zoo Tycoon: Ultimate Animal Collection (October 31st)

Why we’re excited: While Frontier’s Zoo Tycoon didn’t set the world on fire, it had tons of potential, and this revised version seems to be fixing the biggest frustrations with the original. Most importantly, zoos can be much bigger this time around, and customization is much deeper. Plus, kangaroos.The early buzz: The game is out as of this morning, but no reviews are live. The original release sits at just 68 out of 100 on Metacritic, and EGM’s review fell in pretty much that same range. It’s hard to imagine this more ultimater version will somehow be worse than that when all’s said and done, but exactly how much better remains to be seen.Life, uh, finds a way: A new developer, Blue Fang Games, handled work on this revised version of Zoo Tycoon. That’s in part because the original studio, Frontier Developments, has moved on to Jurassic World Evolution, a game that lets you build your very own dinosaur theme park/arrogant attempt to usurp God.

Steven Universe: Save the Light

Why we’re excited: Not every member of the EGM Crew is already a Steven Universe fan, but even this member, who’s never seen an episode, knows it’s got a crazy-strong reputation. And while tie-in games have a tendency to be, well, awful, this one seems like it could be the real deal, with series creator Rebecca Sugar co-writing the game’s original story.The early buzz: Only a handful of reviews have gone live yet, so there’s not enough for an actual Metacritic average on any platform. Early indications are, however, that the gameplay has some serious issues that detract from an enjoyable story. If you’re a serious fan of the show, that might make it worth picking up in spite of its flaws.Original character do not steal:Save the Light introduces a brand-new character to the Steven Universe… universe. Her name is Hessonite, and she’s “a pompous Homeworld commander.” If you know what that means, feel free to tell us!

The biggest new games out this week: October 31st-November 6th

Read on to get the lowdown on all the new releases, including our picks for the most exciting games out this week.

If Call of Duty has taught us anything, it’s this: If at first you don’t succeed, give up and go back to doing what you used to be good at. That’s right, after the poor reception of last year’s Infinite Warfare (relatively speaking; it still made a bazillion dollars), Activision abandoned it’s journey into the future and returned to the comforting embrace of World War II. Now, we’re going back to a time when men were men, zombies were Nazis, and no one did any of that flashy jetpack parkour garbage.

Call of Duty: WWII (November 3rd)

Why we’re excited: The beta earlier this year wasn’t half-bad, and we’re excited for a pared-down shooter experience. There’s something relaxing about offing virtual fascists with an M1 Garand in some bombed out French street.The early buzz: Reviews aren’t in yet, and won’t be until the day before launch. We asked Nick Plessas to break embargo by blinking out his opinion to use in Morse code. His super-secret message translated as “CLOSEGATE.” Don’t tell Activision we told you that.Noob:Earlier this month, a man was arrested in Terre Haute, Indiana, on suspicion of stealing and selling copies of Call of Duty: WII before its street date. Of course, he’d have had a much easier time evading the authorities if he’d just equipped the Phantom Basic Training.

Zoo Tycoon: Ultimate Animal Collection (October 31st)

Why we’re excited: While Frontier’s Zoo Tycoon didn’t set the world on fire, it had tons of potential, and this revised version seems to be fixing the biggest frustrations with the original. Most importantly, zoos can be much bigger this time around, and customization is much deeper. Plus, kangaroos.The early buzz: The game is out as of this morning, but no reviews are live. The original release sits at just 68 out of 100 on Metacritic, and EGM’s review fell in pretty much that same range. It’s hard to imagine this more ultimater version will somehow be worse than that when all’s said and done, but exactly how much better remains to be seen.Life, uh, finds a way: A new developer, Blue Fang Games, handled work on this revised version of Zoo Tycoon. That’s in part because the original studio, Frontier Developments, has moved on to Jurassic World Evolution, a game that lets you build your very own dinosaur theme park/arrogant attempt to usurp God.

Steven Universe: Save the Light

Why we’re excited: Not every member of the EGM Crew is already a Steven Universe fan, but even this member, who’s never seen an episode, knows it’s got a crazy-strong reputation. And while tie-in games have a tendency to be, well, awful, this one seems like it could be the real deal, with series creator Rebecca Sugar co-writing the game’s original story.The early buzz: Only a handful of reviews have gone live yet, so there’s not enough for an actual Metacritic average on any platform. Early indications are, however, that the gameplay has some serious issues that detract from an enjoyable story. If you’re a serious fan of the show, that might make it worth picking up in spite of its flaws.Original character do not steal:Save the Light introduces a brand-new character to the Steven Universe… universe. Her name is Hessonite, and she’s “a pompous Homeworld commander.” If you know what that means, feel free to tell us!